Denzel Washington is known for his way with words. However, the acclaimed actor revealed that a recent tongue-bite has affected his speech as he prepares for his latest Broadway show.
Washington is currently in rehearsals for his return to Broadway in a revival of William Shakespeare’s Othello, starring in the play alongside Jake Gyllenhaul. However, Washington divulged to the New York Times’ “The Interview Podcast” about the tough ordeal that left his tongue damaged.
Although he recalled the incident happening in late 2024, the 70-year-old is still recovering, being forced to slow down when talking.
“I bit my tongue almost half-off a few months ago,” Washington told the program, as reported by Fox News. “It’s affecting my speech. It forces me to slow down. I have to use it.”
Furthermore, the issue will also affect his pronunciation of the Olde Modern English Shakespeare used to write his plays. Washington has already cited trouble reciting some lines from the show.
He added, “I have a line: ‘Whither will you that I go to answer this your charge?’ It’s hard because my tongue is swollen. “It has affected everything.”
While he remains dedicated to continuing the show, the Oscar winner did not dive deeper into what led to the incident. Despite this, the newly-baptized thespian has relied on prayer to get him thorough obstacles such as this. Washington also received
his minister’s license while at the Kelly Temple Church in New York City last December.“That’s why you pray every day,” he continued. “I’m like, ‘OK, Lord, I’m here, I think this is what you wanted me to do.’ Now I’m not sure why, but one can say coincidence and serendipity and all those things.”
About the show itself, Washington remains focused on what God thinks of his performance. He explained how some themes in Othello will also challenge its viewers, but they must be willing to reflect as well.
“At this point, everything I’m doing is through the lens of what God thinks, not what they think. I don’t know what they think,” he expressed. “You go
down that hole, you’ll never come out of that. When people say, ‘What do you want people to get from this movie?’ or ‘What do you want them to get from this play?’ I always say, ‘It depends upon what they bring to it.’ There’s some interesting themes [in Othello] of jealousy and envy and pain and death.”However, for those concerned if his line delivery will falter, Washington already has a method to his acting process.
“I’m not worried about that, because I don’t like to learn the lines too soon,” he added. “I was telling a young actor who asked, ‘Why don’t you like to learn them too soon?’ I said: ‘Because then I’m the voice I’m listening to delivering the cues to myself…I want to hear it from you, and that’s going to affect how I say what I say.’ For me, that works.”
Othello will debut at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on Broadway on March 25 and will run through June 8.
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